Ms. Reich's Classroom Connection

November is such a lovely month. The beautiful colors, the crisp autumn air, the delicious smells of holiday baking, and the opportunity to stop and say, "Thank You, God, for all that we have." The children and I have been giving special thanks to God for our families, friends, food, pets, country, toys, and all good gifts. Once again, I say "Thank you!" to each of you, for entrusting me with the care of your child.

Last week, I was in Dallas, Texas at the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) Conference. It was absolutely awesome. I attend this Conference every year and I am always amazed by the new things I learn. The hot topic of Early Childhood conversation is childhood obesity and the importance of good nutrition coupled with exercise and playful movement. Patti and I love to get the children moving. We will make sure that your child gets alot of exercise while he/she is at school.

Several other sessions I attended focused on play deprivation and its devastating effects on children. I have always had a play based curriculum in my classroom. I do not have a structured classroom and I believe in a non-threatening environment. I have observed and worked in structured pre-school settings and I prefer to see noisy, happy, moving, talking, laughing and playful children rather than quiet, seated children who have to raise their hands to ask for something.

I am often asked, "Do the children actually learn anything in your preschool? All they do is play." In the past, my usual response would be something like, "Absolutely not." However, I have slowly accepted the fact that the value of play is not always understood. So now I patiently respond, "Children learn EVERYTHING through play. They learn about life and friendship. They learn to be confident and creative. They learn to take chances and how to solve problems. They learn to love themselves and others."
Once again, the NAEYC Conference was very affirming for me. I believe in the power of play, but it helps to occasionally hear educational and medical professionals discussing their positive, current research on the necessity of a playful environment.

This Thursday, November 13, is a half day of school because of Parent/Teacher Conferences. There will be NO PM PRESCHOOL. All 4 Year-old PM Preschool children are invited to attend the AM Session on Thursday, November 13th (8:00-11:00AM).
Parents who would like an informal conference may come to the classroom from 12:00PM to 3:00PM. Any Parent who would like a formal, scheduled Conference may e-mail or call me to set a time (4:30PM to 8:00PM).

There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, November 14th.

There is an early dismissal on Wednesday, November 26th (11:30AM), for the Thanksgiving Holiday. There will be NO PM PRESCHOOL on Wednesday, November 26th. Once again, PM Preschool children are invited to attend the AM Session (8:00-11:00).

Have a wonderful week!

It's October and Fall is in the air! I love the cooler temperatures and the beautiful fall colors. The children and I love being outdoors, so please make sure to dress them warmly for outdoor play.
October is Month of Mary and the Most Holy Rosary. We have begun to learn the prayer, "Hail Mary, Gentle Woman." I will teach the children to sing this prayer and I will also teach them to pray the Hail Mary in sign language.
This Monday, October 6th, is an All School Mass. We will attend the 8:30AM Mass. Please feel free to join us in the cry room.
Just a reminder: There is no school this Friday, October 10th (the teachers have an in-service day) or Monday, October 13th (Columbus Day Holiday). Please enjoy the long weekend.
We continue to talk about the wonderful and unique bodies that God has created for each of us. The children know that to be healthy and happy, they need good food, rest, exercise, God in our hearts and love in our families. We will exercise our bodies each day. We have been singing and moving to "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in English and in French.
During gym class (each Tuesday) we are bending, stretching and practicing some animal YOGA poses.
The children have made friends and are beginning to develop playful relationships. We talk about friendship and playing with all the children in our classroom. I take turns calling them to work individually with me or Patti or our wonderful Marist girls (cutting, pasting, painting, coloring, writing). This insures that play continues with a different mix of children throughout the day.
This week we will talk about the beautiful, sturdy bones in our body and our amazing skeleton that allows us to move, walk, jump, write, dance and play. We will make a skeleton out of paper chains.
With Halloween right around the corner, we will begin to make some fun decorations for your homes. Halloween falls on a Friday this year. All children love this holiday and I want the 3 year old preschoolers to be included in the fun. Therefore, all of the 3 year old children are invited to come to school on Halloween dressed in their costumes.
I do not have classroom parties like the other grades K-8. Every day is a party in the Preschool Room! Therefore, we will have a regular class on Halloween (with Halloween activities). The children will have a chance to parade around the school dressed in their costumes. You may send a treat for your child to pass out. However, I will not allow the children to eat any candy during classtime. All candy and treats will be sent home.
Have a great week!

Happy First Day of Autumn! Although the weather is still warm, we look forward to the cooler temperatures and beautiful Fall colors. The children will be working on many lovely Fall projects to decorate your refrigerators and windows. Please display your child's artwork proudly!
I'm a little late with this blog-letter because the system was down all weekend. It may have had something to do with the power outage on Friday afternoon. We lost power for about an hour.
The Preschool children have settled into a comfortable routine. They know when it is time to play and they know when it is time to work. They especially know when it is snacktime and outside playtime (their favorite times of the day!)
We have been talking about how God made each of us unique and special. We know that to be happy and healthy, we need good food, exercise, fresh air, clean water, love in our families, and God in our hearts. The 4 year-old children have been working on a book: "All About Me". You will receive your child's completed book this week. Please look at each page carefully with your son or daughter. Much love and hard work was put into this first accomplishment.
Last week, St. Linus celebrated our Football Homecoming. The Preschoolers made a poster for the poster contest, and the afternoon class participated in the Pep Rally. It was fun for all! We showed that we have alot of School Spirit!
Playing outside is the highlight of each day. The children love the fresh air and they love running around and playing in the backyard. Much of our play equipment is old. Dr. and Mrs. Stricker (Katie's parents) have a lovely playhouse they are willing to donate. However, we need to find a way to get it to school. If any one of you have a truck or a means of getting this playhouse to St. Linus, please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated.
We welcome two new students to our class: Ryann Houbolt (3 year old class) and Garrett Joyce (4 year old class). We had to say "Goodbye" to Ryan Van. Ryan's Dad was transferred to a job up North. It was very hard for Ryan to leave us. Please keep Ryan and his family in your prayers.
Have a wonderful week!

On Monday morning (8:30AM), we will honor our Mother Mary by celebrating our first all school mass in Her honor. Two weeks ago, our parish organist, Dan Stucker announced that he had taken a new position at another parish. Therefore, Dr. Stritch asked me to play the organ/piano for the All School Masses. Patti will sit with the children in the cry room. All parents are invited to celebrate mass with us.
The beautiful, new gym floor has been finished. We will be given gym time every Tuesday, and on other days when Mr. Fox takes his classes outside or in the classroom. Please have your child wear gym shoes to school each day. If we can have extra gym-time- we will take it. Gym shoes are much safer than sandals/flip flops when running and playing.
Marist High School's Senior Service Religion Program has sent us 5 wonderful Senior Girls to work with the preschool children each day. Every morning we welcome Liza and Bridget. Each afternoon, we welcome Dana, Kelly and Megan. The girls are wonderful. They allow for one-on-one interaction with the children.
We have begun to learn our prayers: the Sign of the Cross, the Morning Prayer: Thank you for this new school day. Watch over me as I work and play. Help me to be kind today. All of this dear Lord, I pray.Amen." and our Snack Prayer: "It's time for snack and so we pray, Dear Lord, please bless our food today. We thank You for this healthy food, that makes our bodies strong and good. AMEN"
The Four Year Old children have started the Jolly Phonics program. We started with the sound of "S". Each child will also be practicing his/her name in upper and lower case letters. Although I believe this to be developmentally inappropriate, I am merely doing this as a "fun" practice. The children want and ask to do "work". Writing his/her name is fun and rewarding. We never make this a drill. It is meant for recognition and practice-either tracing the letters or trying to imitate them. Each child will also be writing/drawing in his/her journal.
Our focus these first months of school are on fine motor skills. We will be coloring, cutting, painting and pasting (alot!). Please proudly display all of your child's beautiful artwork!
Many parents become frustrated with the amount of artwork that each of their children accumulate. It is difficult to "recycle" the projects; however, it is also impossible to store boxes and boxes of papers. Mrs. Cholke (JAC and Hannah's mother) reminded me of something that I learned at an Early Childhood Conference. She spreads out all of the children's artwork and takes a photograph. Then she allows each child to choose one special piece of art to save. She keeps the photographs in a special album. This assures a permanent record of each child's creativity.
Each Wednesday, the oldest child from each family will bring home a "Brown Envelope" filled with notes and letters from the school office. Please sign and date the envelope, and return it to school the next day.
I have not received the Purple Family Emergency Form from many families. Please check to see if you still have it and be sure to fill this out and send it to school ASAP. I need to have emergency numbers available. For safety reasons, there is a telephone in each classroom. If Patti or I need to contact you quickly, it is helpful to have the numbers readily availble.
Thank you for being flexible with the PM hours. Once again, if you can send your son/daughter to school in the afternoon, it is welcomed. The afternoon class remains much smaller.
Your children are delightful! We have had a great beginning. Have a wonderful week!

Welcome to St. Linus PreSchool. I hope you had a great summer playing with your children. I love summer vacation. But I also love my job and I am sooooo happy to be back at school! I know that this is going to be a wonderful year.
Patti Kott (Ms. Patti) and I love all of our new (and old!) children. Patti will only be working during the AM Session (8AM-12:00PM). The AM PreSchool Session (8:00AM-11:00AM) has more children enrolled than the PM Session (11:40AM-2:40PM). There are 24 Four Year Olds (19 AM and 5 PM) and 9 Three Year Olds (5 AM and 4 PM). Please consider having your son or daughter attend the PM Session permanently, or occasionally.
I have legally changed my name to Carol Reich. Some of the children know me as Mrs. Zielinski. The new children may call me Ms. Reich or Ms. Carol or my favorite title: "Teacher". I will answer to any name.
The Cardiff Center has been completed. The temporary fence has been taken down. However, our backyard is in a state of disarray. Patti and I have been pulling weeds, trimming bushes, and cleaning up the "mess". We are trying to make it a pleasant outdoor environment for the children. If you (or any friends or family) have any "gently used" outdoor play equipment that you would like to donate, please call me or Dr. Stritch.
We also have a beautiful, new gym floor. The gym will be ready for class use next week. I will let you know what day we will be able to have gym time. Please make sure your son or daughter wears gym shoes on gym day.
St. Linus School has developed a working relationship with Marist High School's Senior Service Religion Class. The students come to our school during their religion class period. They help out in any way that is needed. The PreSchool will have 2 Marist students during the AM Session and 2 during the PM Session. They will begin their service this Friday.
Due to the early start on August 22, this Friday, August 29, school will dismiss at 11:30AM. Therefore, there will be NO PM Preschool this Friday. All PM PreSchool students are invited to attend the AM Session this Friday, August 29th.
School Pictures will be taken on Wednesday, September 10th. The photographer always takes the Preschool children's pictures first so that we look fresh and clean.
Have a great Labor Day weekend!